Bryzgalov takes blame for lopsided loss

PHILADELPHIA — Not since Ron Hextall roamed the old Spectrum ice has a Flyer goaltender been as brutally harsh and honest in a self-assessment of a performance.

Ilya Bryzgalov, the Russian import with the nine-year, $51-million pricetag, gave up the last four of the whopping nine goals scored by Winnipeg on Thursday night.

That turnstile effort came just 24 hours after allowing five in a one-sided loss at Montreal.

Although the Flyers played some horrific defense in front of him both nights, Bryzgalov made like Hextall, the all-time “stand-up’’ goalie, and told it like it was.

After saying “I’m lost in the woods right now,’’ Bryzgalov was asked if this game was the low point of his career.

“Yeah,’’ he said. “We didn’t have problems playing the puck. Not yesterday. Not tonight. It’s just I can’t stop the puck. It’s very simple. You can’t ask more from the forwards. They scored eight goals and we’re still losing. Obviously, it’s terrible goalies ... me.’’

Bryzgalov, having allowed 18 goals in his last four appearances, wasn’t about to let porous defense serve as an alibi.

“It doesn’t matter,’’ he said. “They’re trying to play hard. Everybody. The bottom line, I’m the goalie. I’m the guy who has to stop the puck. I couldn’t stop the simple shot.

“That’s probably why players make more mistakes, because they have no confidence in their goalie ... because the goalie was bad. Yeah, I’m the reason why we lost the game.’’

Schenn out 4-6 weeks

When the trade was made last summer, the Flyers thought they were getting possibly the most promising prospect in the NHL ranks. But injuries have kept Brayden Schenn — the centerpiece of the Mike Richards swap with Los Angeles — from showing his wares.

A shoulder injury in preseason (plus salary cap considerations) wound up landing him in Adirondack to start the season. Then, just four games into his return stint, Schenn suffered a broken bone in his left foot during Wednesday night’s 5-1 loss at Montreal.

Schenn is expected to miss four to six weeks of action.

The Flyers called up rookie Zac Rinaldo to fill his roster spot. Rinaldo was in the lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Fortunately, the Flyers have some depth down the middle, so the loss of Schenn is not a big hardship.

In four games with the Flyers, Schenn did not record a point and was a minus-5.

Coach Peter Laviolette took the injury philosophically.

“Well, certainly you don’t want to see your players going down with injuries, especially a young player like that where he’d just gotten back from an injury,’’ Laviolette said before the Jets game. “It’s part of the game. You don’t want to see it happen. We do have some depth there, so that’s a good thing.’’

Philadelphia also recalled defenseman Erik Gustafsson.

Rinaldo adds a physical presence to the Flyers lineup.

“I can always add energy, no matter what,’’ he said. “But I’m also working on being an all-around player. You gotta hit, fight, score. You have to be the full package. That (supply energy) is what I’m here for.’’

Pronger update

Chris Pronger (eye injury) continues to recover at home. He was examined again by Dr. Stephen Goldman on Thursday and general manager Paul Holmgren issued the following statement: “He continues to improve daily. Chris will start light exercise on the weekend.’’